Autoblog

two rear wheels and one front creates a trike that does not lean, and you have to handle a differential.

One rear wheel is direct drive, with less driveline loss.

one front wheel would make a motorcycle, which we all know.

Two front wheels on a parallelogram suspension creates better front end traction, especially for braking, and maintains the leaning effect of a motorcycle with more contact patch, and forward weight bias. (rear weight is centered on one tire, so there is still a fair amount of traction)

I am not saying that three wheelers like this should replace bikes, but it is an interesting niche.

I just wonder if it is better to sit on with feet under (like this V-max), sit in with feet forward, and rear end down (like the Aprilia Magnet concept), or head and hands forward, with feet under and back, more like a sportbike...

Rear-mid engine driving the rear wheel, or traditional motorcycle arrangement... both could be cool.

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If you do that, braking and turning will result in a rollover. That's why you don't see any trike off-roaders, they are all quads.

Chris.

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You do see trike offroaders. The 3 wheelers of old. They were just outlawed because how dangerous they were.

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Yup some of the trike ATV's are still around, I've flipped ours over a few times, luckily at lower speeds ;)

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I guess I'm still confused as to why they couldn't use the same suspension setup with the two rear wheels as they do here with the two front ones, for turning and breaking.

It seems that the problem is how sophisticated the suspension setup is, not where the wheels are.

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somewhat impossible if oyu plan is to sell these kits aftermaret for existing bikes. Also you can't lean a rear wheeled trike so it's essentially a car with bad handling.

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I don't know that this is a limited mobility appliance attachment for a motorcycle. I think it is merely an alternative that someone wanted to try out.

And not only that, but I would think that this thing would be much harder (but probably still possible) to high-side or low-side than a traditional motorcycle.

It also probably would not fall over and be nearly impossible to lift back up by one's self, like a full-dress bike.

It isn't being pitched as better than two wheels, but a niche alternative.

I do think it would be far better to custom-build a frame and make a purpose-built three wheeled vehicle, with motorcycle power, rather than just fitting this front end to an otherwise normal bike.

But fitting it to a normal bike does offer the opportunity to test it and prove the system, without the added complexity of a custom vehicle.

I'd love to see this adapted to a custom vehicle, where you sit in it, with a motorcycle engine behind your back, driving the rear wheel. and the foot controls are forward, near the front suspension. Much like the Aprilia Magnet concept.

Powered by the R1200S HP2's boxer DOHC engine, (nice low center of gravity, and I love boxer engines...) electro-mechanically shifted 6-speed, and shaft drive, and ohlins suspension... That could be very cool. albeit longer and lower than a motorcycle. Kind of a cross between a three-wheeled bike and an even-smaller, one-seat ariel atom-like vehicle. With hand and foot controls like a cross-breed between a bike and a car.

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